Transcript
Good morning, everyone. Our Parsha class this morning is sponsored by Martin and Sandy Fisher in honor of their upcoming anniversary. Very happy anniversary. מזל טוב Mazal tov, thank you for your sponsorship. If you're interested in sponsoring, you can arrange with our שול shul office. This week, we have the privilege of beginning ספר שמות Sefer Shmos with פרשת שמות Parshas Shmos. We transition as I always point out from the story of the birth of our first family to the birth of our people as a nation. בראשית Breishis represented that transition from a dysfunctional to hopefully a functional family. And the family now expands, becomes more sophisticated, and takes on the structure and the status not just of a family, but of a people. So let's begin as we always do, first with an overview of the פרשה parsha, and then we'll delve into our פסוקים psukim, picking up from where we left off last year. The פרשה parsha begins, אלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה Eileh shmos Bnei Yisrael habaim Mitzraima, these are the names of the Jewish people who came to Egypt, את יעקב איש וביתו באו es Yaakov ish u'beiso bau. And here we have in the opening פסוק pasuk both names. בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, the name that depicts the immortality of the Jewish people, the special nature of the Jewish people, the elevated, transcendent nature, as well as את יעקב איש וביתו באו es Yaakov ish u'beiso bau, when they first descended to Egypt, it was with the status of יעקב Yaakov, the עקב akeiv, the heel, holding on, the imagery of being more dependent and so on.In the opening פסוק pasuk itself, we have a hint as to what led to the exit, to the Exodus, what led to the merit of יציאת מצרים yetzias Mitzrayim. אלה שמות Eileh shmos, these were the names. We know חז\"ל Chazal tells us that though we were integrated, to a degree, assimilated into the culture of מצרים Mitzrayim, we merited to be saved, to be redeemed, because of three things that we held on to. What were they? Held on to our language, held on to our names, and held on to? What? Our appearance, our dress, our distinct appearance. And one can argue these are the three things that have saved us throughout our history. That throughout 2,000 years of exile, of being dispersed across nations and countries who had foreign languages and foreign cultures, who each had their own style of dress, it was the courage to wear our יארמולקע yamaka, so to say, to have an appearance of a Jew, it was the courage to maintain a Jewish name, to know one's Jewish name. It was the courage to have a language, even though maybe in the vernacular, we communicated with the language of the host country in which we lived, but we retained the capacity to communicate in our unique language as well. So here you have a reference to ואלה שמות ve'eileh shmos. These are the names of the Jewish people. A name we know reveals an essence. A name reveals what is inside. We have a tradition that parents have a degree of prophecy when they bestow a name upon their children, they're not just giving a name, they're actually giving a description of the child. It's prescient. They're looking into the future and anticipating and giving the courage, the strength, the character to the child who will live by the name that they're given. Names are not to us random, nor are they insignificant. The word chair is just a word we've all agreed to use to understand what we're talking about when we talk about the thing that you're sitting on right now. There's no inherent or intrinsic significance to the word chair. Chair is just the agreed upon word, so we're all on the same page. When we use a name, it's not just a label. Oh yes, so we know who we're talking about, we'll refer to him or her as the same name. No. The name is a description. The name is a prediction. The name speaks to the very intrinsic inherent character of the person. And part of what meant that our names, maintaining, retaining our names led to our redemption meant that whatever was happening on the outside, however broken we were, however persecuted and oppressed, whatever degree of assimilation, our essence remained the same. The חלבן Chalban, who we've quoted before, רב חיים כהן Rav Chaim Cohen in his ספר sefer טל עלי חיים Tal Olei Chaim talks about this great value of what the name achieved. He says that the גלות מצרים galus Mitzrayim was a תיקון tikun, it was a repair for what happened with אדם Adam. That when the call went out, איכה Ayeka, where are you? The מהר\"ל Maharal describes איכה Ayeka means who are you? Not where are you? God knows everything. God certainly can go on his tracking device, find his iPhone and know exactly where he is. איכה Ayeka, where are you? As if God doesn't know. So the מהר\"ל Maharal, איכה Ayeka means who are you? I don't recognize you. Who are you? What's your עצמות atzmus? What's your essence? What drives you? What's your moral compass? What motivates you? איכה Ayeka, who are you? שמות Shmos, שמות sheimos is the answer to who are you. In our core, in our essence, what we are inside is our name. and what it means they maintained their name doesn't just mean they knew what name to put on the מצבה matzeiva. They knew how to be called up to the Torah. They properly filled out the כתובה kesuba. I'm obviously being facetious. It doesn't just mean, they didn't have those things yet. It means they knew who they were. They hadn't lost that sense of their destiny, of the description of their essence, of their potential, of the reality of who they of who they really were.Okay. The generations pass. ויהי כל נפש יוצאי ירך יעקב שבעים נפש ויוסף היה במצרים Vayichol nefesh yotzei yerech Yaakov shivim nafesh veYosef haya beMitzrayim. We remind ourselves, as if we didn't just read last week's פרשה parsha ויחי Vayechi, the 70 who descended. Last week we talked about how you count the 70, who was the 70th. יוסף Yosef was in מצרים Mitzrayim. יוסף Yosef dies and all his brothers וכל הדור ההוא vechol hador hahu, ובני ישראל פרו וישרצו וירבו ויעצמו במאוד מאוד ותמלא הארץ אותם u'Vnei Yisrael paru vayishretzu vayirbu vaya'atzmu bim'od me'od vatimalei ha'aretz osam. The Jewish people spread, the Jewish people populated, tremendously. The מדרשים midrashim tell us about the multiple births that were experienced miraculously that created this explosive population growth, so that our presence in Egypt was no longer not discernible, it was no longer unnoticeable. Our presence became very obvious. פרו וישרצו וירבו ויעצמו במאוד מאוד Paru, vayishretzu, vayirbu, vaya'atzmu bim'od me'od. I just saw a story, Jerusalem Post, nice heartwarming story, a couple in their 90s, among the founders of קיבוץ לביא Kibbutz Lavi in north Israel, ran away from the Nazis, escaped Nazi Germany in oppression, and they just celebrated yesterday the birth of their 100th great-grandchild. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. פרו וישרצו וירבו ויעצמו במאוד מאוד Paru vayishretzu vayirbu vaya'atzmu bim'od me'od. It's nice to have good news every once in a while. It's uncomfortable, I know you're not used to it, but learn to deal with it. It's good. It's good to have good news too. The ultimate answer, the ultimate answer. Even in the midst of the גלות galus, is there a deeper, darker גלות galus than running away from the Nazis? If you would ask this couple, could they imagine being alive to celebrate the birth of a hundred great-grandchildren in Israel, founding a religious קיבוץ kibbutz, it's just the unimaginable is imaginable if you have אמונה emunah in השם Hashem. It's an amazing, amazing thing. So the Jewish people spread, they become noticeable. ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף Vayakom melech chadash al Mitzrayim asher lo yada es Yosef. There was a new king, it's no parallels, but a new king was inaugurated over Egypt. ברוך אתה ה' אלוקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro. אשר לא ידע את יוסף Asher lo yada es Yosef that did not know Yosef. We're all familiar with רש\"י Rashi, two opinions, what does it mean didn't know Yosef? עשה עצמו כאילו לא ידעו Asa atzmo k'ilu lo yado. Made himself as if he did not know. Was it literally a new king who had no contact, no connection with Yosef and his descendants? Or the same king who had lost contact? ספורנו Sforno, the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, we've learned this in the past. To me, this is one of the sources in the Torah, אייפק מן התורה מניין APAC min haTorah minayin? Activism from the Torah, lobbying from the Torah, right here. אשר לא ידע את יוסף Asher lo yada es Yosef. Maintaining relationships, activism, connections, lobbying so that when you need it, so that when it's necessary, when you need to cash in on it, it's there. Jewish people had retreated, they grew, גושן Goshen is exploding and they forgot to maintain those contacts and those relationships. What happens? They threatened, the explosive population growth of the Jewish people threatens מצרים Mitzrayim, the demographics of מצרים Mitzrayim. They're now a חתיכה ראויה להתכבד chaticha ra'uyah l'hisgabey, they're now a unit, an entity that could threaten the dominance of the Egyptians. So they persecute. It's the non-Jewish answer throughout our history to the perceived or illusion of threat that we pose, is to persecute and oppress, to knock us down. And that's exactly what they did. וימררו את חייהם בעבודה קשה בחומר ובלבנים Vayemareru es chayeihem b'avodah kasha b'chomer u'vilveinim... They made their lives bitter through the workload, the back-breaking labor, כל עבודתם אשר עבדו בהם בפרך kol avodasam asher avdu vahem b'farech. Fine. Then they further decreed, we all know the story, let's go through it quickly, that Pharaoh anticipated with the help of astrology, a redeemer of Israel would be born, so he decreed that all the firstborn, that all the boys rather, had to be cast into the Nile. The מילדות העבריות miyaldos ha'ivriyos, who are these מילדות העבריות miyaldos ha'ivriyos? שפרה ופועה Shifra and Puah according to most. There is some commentary that argues, radical commentary we discussed in the past as well, that this is not in fact שפרה ופועה Shifra and Puah, it's not מרים ויוכבד Miriam and Yocheved, it's not even Jews, it's a fascinating interpretation, not for now, you could listen online. They defy the decree and they earn great reward in exchange. As a result, משה Moshe is of course born. But משה Moshe is born in our פרשה parsha to anonymous parents. וילך איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי Vayeilech ish mibeis Levi vayikach es bas Levi. A man from the house of לוי Levi took a woman from the home, a descendant of לוי Levi. ותהר האשה ותלד בן Vatahar ha'isha vateiled ben, and this mystery woman, this anonymous woman gives birth, conceives and gives birth to a boy, and ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא ותצפנהו שלשה ירחים vatereh oso ki tov hu vatitzpenehu shlosha yerachim. They were able to hide him for three months, but then they can no longer hide him. So they put him in the basket. Why, why the anonymity? If we know משה's Moshe's parents are, why not come forth immediately? Why isn't it held close to the chest until later? Why is this mystery איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי ish mibeis Levi vayikach es bas Levi? Also a great question, we're not going to discuss now. So משה Moshe is put in the basket, and ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה ותחמול עליו vatifttach vatireihu es hayeled vehineh naar bocheh vatachmol alav. The daughter of Pharaoh, בתיה Bisya, the daughter of Pharaoh sees the boy floating and we know the מדרש medrash, she extends her arm, miraculously goes further. She's able to grab this child. She feels tremendous sympathy, empathy, and calls a Jewish midwife to nurse the baby and and so on. משה Moshe grows up in the palace. ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלותם Vayigdal Moshe vayetze el echav vayar besivlosam. And he sees their suffering. He witnesses an Egyptian striking a Jew, ויפן כה וכה וירא כי אין איש vayifen ko vacho vayar ki ein ish. He looked this way and he looked that way and he saw there was no man. משה Moshe comes out of the palace and he has an identity crisis. Who is the real משה Moshe? What's his name? איכה Ayeka, who is the real משה Moshe? Is it the משה Moshe who was born to Jewish parents? The משה Moshe who identifies and associates with the plight, the fate, the destiny of this persecuted people? Or is it the משה Moshe of the palace? Is it the prince who grows up in the lap of luxury, who grows up with opportunity? Who is the real משה Moshe? So homiletically some say, read it. ויפן כה וכה Vayifen ko vacho. He looked this way and that way. He looked at this integrated person he was trying to be, who was not exactly a Jew and not exactly an Egyptian. And what did he see when he tried to live this blend of the two? What did he see? וירא כי אין איש Vayar ki ein ish. There was no man. He was nobody. He was nothing. You cannot be both simultaneously. At your core, at your essence, what's your name? איכה Ayeka, who are you? Doesn't mean you can't participate in and take the best from and contribute to the world around you. But when there's a clash of your values and a clash of your morals and a clash of your loyalty, who are you? A liberal, Western-minded American who goes with the fashion, the fads and the mores and the ethics of the time? Or are you a איד Yid, a Jew? ויפן כה וכה Vayifen ko vacho. משה Moshe looks, who is he? The prince from the palace? The little boy hid for three months? כי אין איש Ki ein ish. If he would try to be both, he was neither. So what does he do, homiletically? ויך את המצרי Vayach es haMitzri. He smites the Egyptian in him. ויטמנהו בחול Vayitnehu bachol and he buries that part of his identity. Again, not advocating withdrawing from society, take the best from, contribute to, participate in, וכולי vechulei what we believe, but in the core values when there's conflict. ויצא ביום השני Vayetze bayom hasheini, Moshe goes out the second day. Now he sees two Jews fighting and intervenes. He understands he's in trouble, and he runs. And he runs. Very interesting, משה Moshe grows up in the palace. How was he going to identify with his people growing up in the palace? That's part of his hesitancy we'll study in a moment. משה's Moshe's reluctance to accept the assignment. They're not going to listen to me. I don't have scars on my back. I'm not as tan from the sun. I haven't worked those hard hours. I've been growing up in the lap of luxury. They're not going to listen to me. So טאקע takke it's a good question. Why would God make משה Moshe grow up in the palace? Removed from the people? Not sharing in their experience? The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra has a phenomenal comment. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, משה Moshe had to go to the palace, walk up to Pharaoh, look him in the eye, and demand to let his people go. Do you know what that means to walk up to the strongest human being on earth, to the leader of the world, to the emperor of the greatest empire? Do you know the courage it takes? Do you know the conviction, the confidence that has to be mustered to look into the eye of such a powerful man and make a demand? Now true, God says, 'Don't worry, I'll be right behind you.' But God's right behind him. משה Moshe still has to have the courage to look Pharaoh in the eye. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, to look a king in the eye and make a demand, you have to think of yourself as a prince. You have to grow up a prince. You have to think of yourself as royalty. And therefore as capable, as entitled, as deserving of being in that palace. You can't walk into that palace and feel insecure, inferior. You have to be confident. And so for משה Moshe to act like a king, he had to be raised like a king.I'm reminded seven years ago, six years ago, I was very honored to be invited with a small group to the White House to meet with the administration, later with the president himself on issues of Israel messaging. You remember that six years ago, seven years ago. So, a congressman with whom I'm very close and I talked to before I went and trying to figure out what exactly I was going to say and how to make the point, points that were so important to be made. He gave me the best advice. He said when you when you go sit in the Roosevelt room in the West Wing of the White House, you're going to be so enamored, you're going to just forget who you are and why you're there because you're not going to believe where you're sitting and with whom you're meeting. He said, here's what you need to do. You got to go in, look around, take a deep breath, be excited you're there, and then put that aside and remember your mission and what you have to say. It was the best advice. And you can see the tremendous impact it had. But it was, at least I said what I wanted to say. Imagine what would have happened had I not said what I needed to say. So the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says for משה Moshe to have the confidence not to walk into the palace and and feel, oh my, oh I can't believe I'm here and who am I and I'll ask nicely maybe if you don't mind it's possible perhaps you would consider letting the people go. To have the confidence to make that demand, says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, משה Moshe had to be raised as a king. It's a big lesson I think in חינוך chinuch for our children. How we carry ourselves, how we present ourselves, how we dress, how we speak, are we nobility, are we royalty? Do we educate our children, grandchildren, that the language, the dress of the street is not us? We are בני מלכים bnei melachim. We are princes and princesses, we are royalty. בנים אתם למקום Banim atem l'Makom, we are the children of the Almighty. Like משה Moshe, we are raised in the palace of the king, of God himself, and how we carry ourselves and who we are should reflect that upbringing. So משה Moshe realizes he's got to run and he heads to מדין Midian. The episode here we go with the wells again. And he finds a wife. Now the time for the salvation arises. משה Moshe is a shepherd, wandering. These are the פסוקים psukim we're going to study. Comes across a bush which is on fire and yet it's not being consumed, it's not burning. There are so many so much symbolism in that bush. Is the angel at the center of the burning bush? Is this supposed to depict God in some way? Does it depict the Jewish people, that though they're working so hard, they're not consumed, they never give up? Does it pick depict the Egyptians? The אור החיים Or HaChaim in our פרשה parsha says, who though they are smacked around with מכה maka after מכה maka, plague after plague, they are resilient and they have resolve in their oppression of the Jewish people, their unwavering. Who exactly does it depict? Once heard a beautiful explanation. God is recruiting משה Moshe to be the leader, the מנהיג manhig of the Jewish people. The image of a leader is a bush on fire that's not being consumed. Why? A leader has to be on fire, passionate, enthusiastic, devoted, dedicated, and never burn out. Never allow themselves to be consumed, be careful, pace oneself so that they don't burn out. So משה Moshe sees this fire. God tells him take your shoes off. So as our topic last year, you could listen online, think we gave five explanations. Why when you're in a holy place, be it that holy place in the communication with God or on הר הבית Har HaBayis till today, those who follow the opinion that you're allowed to go on הר הבית Har HaBayis and walk around הר הבית Har HaBayis, you can't wear leather shoes. על היום הזה Al hayom hazeh, כהנים koanim didn't wear shoes, you learn משניות mishnayos, you see, כהן גדול kohen gadol, יום כיפור Yom Kippur and so on. The why can't you wear shoes? We offered five reasons very, very interesting last year. God recruits משה Moshe, משה Moshe hesitates, God convinces him. משה Moshe wants a sign, God gives a sign. משה Moshe says, how do I refer to you? What is your name? Who should I say sent me? And God answers. And then we have the beginning, משה Moshe doubts the people's faith, the desperate plea, God responds. משה Moshe heads to מצרים Mitzrayim. צפורה Tzippora gives the ברית bris to the children, what that's about. משה ואהרן Moshe and Aharon come face to face and confront Pharaoh and make this demand of him, but he increases the burden and the Jews complain to משה ואהרן Moshe and Aharon. I thought you were here to save us. What happened to the brighter future you promised? Since you got involved, since you started meddling, it's only gotten worse. And that's how our פרשה parsha ends.So let's go back and let's start where we left off last year. פרק ג, פסוק ו Perek Gimmel, pasuk vav. Let's actually reread פסוק ד pasuk daled. This is the story that משה Moshe is shepherding the flock because we see that our great patriarchs and leaders were shepherds. It's not coincidental. How do you say shepherd in Hebrew? רועה Roeh. How do you say a friend in Hebrew? רע Rea. At the core of being a good shepherd is being a good friend. The core of being a good friend is having the capacity to shepherd. Shepherd is not just a job, it's a calling. It's got to be devotion and love towards one's flock. Our great leaders had the experience of responsibility, of shepherding. Not just because it was a great job that left you time to learn. It was a job where you could reflect and meditate and think out in the field with the sheep, with the flock, but the responsibility towards the flock cultivated a great sense of responsibility, love, friendship, and so on. So משה Moshe is shepherding the flock when all of a sudden as we just mentioned, he sees this imagery of the סנה sneh. It's בוער באש bo'er ba'esh and it's on fire, but it's איננו אוכל einenu ukal, it is not consumed. And משה Moshe turns to look. The מפרשים meforshim point out that what made משה Moshe the perfect leader is that he bothered to look. Was the burning bush only visible to משה Moshe? Or is it that משה Moshe was the only one who saw it? There are miracles all around us. God reveals his hand all around us. But it takes the very special people to see it, to turn to look, to notice, to appreciate. Maybe many others walked right by that bush and didn't notice. But it says וירא ה' כי סר לראות vayar Hashem ki sar liros. What made משה Moshe different, God noticed that he stopped to look. That he had enough space, enough presence, enough mindfulness to notice. If your life is always on the move, if you're always looking at your cell phone, if you're always listening for the next alert, the beep, if you're always running to the next place, there's so much noise, you can't hear or see or think or perceive miracles happening all around us. So God sees that משה Moshe is סר לראות sar liros, and God calls him from the bush. Mentioned last year, there's a מדרש medrash, my brother first pointed out to me. The מדרש medrash says, כי סר לראות ki sar liros, God saw that משה Moshe turned to look. When did משה Moshe turn to look? When did God see that משה Moshe turned to look? Was it right now? Because he bothered to look at the bush? Says the מדרש medrash, no. When did God see משה Moshe bother turn to look? Earlier. What does it say? ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלותם Vayigdal Moshe vayetze el echav vayar besivlosam. That משה Moshe grew up in the palace. He was mature, he was a young adult. He went outside. וירא Vayar, and he saw what? בסבלותם Besivlosam, their suffering. The וירא ה' כי סר לראות vayar Hashem ki sar liros says the מדרש medrash is not that right now God saw משה Moshe turn to look at the bush. That's not what first made the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam take notice. What made God take notice was earlier. כי סר לראות, לראות בסבלותם Ki sar liros, liros besivlosam, that משה Moshe had seen their suffering with a sense of empathy, with a sensitivity, with a care, with a concern.So it's amazing. Why did God recruit משה Moshe? What is it about משה's Moshe's life, his biography, his background, his skills, his talents? Is it משה's Moshe's superior intellect, his charm? It's not his eloquence or oratory skills, we know that. He's the אב הנביאים av ha'nevi'im, the greatest and the father of all prophets, the most spiritual, pure, angelic person. What is it about משה Moshe that God says, he's my man? What should be the most important character trait in a rabbinic search committee? I'm not going anywhere, I'm just at least by my choice, I'm not. רב שמחה זיסל Rav Simcha Zissel, the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm, says if you want to know what made God so in love with משה Moshe, so convinced משה Moshe was his man that he refused to take a no, then you have to look at the four stories in our פרשה parsha that all have a similar theme. In the first story, ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלותם Vayigdal Moshe vayetze el echav vayar besivlosam, we just mentioned. The first story, משה Moshe leaves his flat-screen, high-definition television, his personal sushi chef, his in-the-palace Starbucks, משה Moshe leaves his Egyptian cotton sheets, of course they were Egyptian cotton, high thread count, his plush pillows, משה Moshe leaves all of the creature comforts of the palace, the protection of the palace, and he goes outside. Why? וירא בסבלותם Vayar besivlosam. He wants to see what's happening with his people, with his family. And what does he see? Their misery, their suffering. He had no reason to go out. He could easily shielded his eyes. He could have left the palace and gotten into his camel with tinted windows, bulletproof, and shielded his eyes from seeing what was happening. Who wants to see it and just feel so terrible, feel guilty for what he has in the palace? But he doesn't shield his eyes. Not only does he not shield his eyes, וירא בסבלותם vayar besivlosam. The whole reason he goes is to see and feel empathy for what they're going through. What's the second story? He sees an Egyptian striking a Jew. Again, he's got this conflict. Is he an Egyptian, is he a Jew? What would you have thought? What would he do? Not get involved. Go back inside, you didn't see anything, there's nothing to see here, nothing to do. But what does משה Moshe do? He intercedes, he gets involved. Says the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm, it's not just by וירא בסבלותם vayar besivlosam, to see the pain and the suffering of the masses, but he identifies with the pain of the individual, of the specific person, and he gets involved in order to help. What's the next story? ויצא ביום השני Vayetze bayom hasheini, he goes out again. He leaves his comfort zone again. Now again, if what happened to him happened to me the day before, I'd say you know what? I'm staying in the palace for a little while. Who needs to get involved? Who needs to see? Who needs to identify with? It's pretty good in here, I'm staying in here. The second day, the very next day. He goes out again. Again to see the suffering. And again, in a quest and mission to relieve it and to help it. And what does he see now? שני אנשים עברים נצים Shnei anashim ivrim nitzim, two Jews, two Hebrews fighting. Says the Alter, Moshe didn't just get involved to protect his people from the outside, Moshe's involved to protect his people from themselves.ויצא Vayetzei. Moshe's life is characterized as going out, noticing what's going on. And that costs him his freedom. Costs him the palace. The result of going out and seeing what's going on and wanting to help means he's on the run, he's got to go to מדין Midyan. It costs him his freedom. And here we have the fourth and final story of the first eighty years of Moshe's life. This is the sum total of what we know. Now we're biased because we have the מדרש Midrash. And we all grew up with the מדרשים Midrashim of the hot coal and the tongue and the burn and the stories and the, we know all the מדרשים Midrashim. But read the text itself. The first eighty years of Moshe's life, four stories. And what's the fourth story? He arrives in מדין Midyan only to discover that the shepherds are harassing the young women and he gets involved. He drives them away. And here again, says the Alter of קלם Kelm, Moshe could have said, you know what? Getting involved has already cost me the palace, the comfort, where I grew up. I'm starting a new life in מדין Midyan, keeping my head down, my eyes to the ground, I'm not getting involved. Is that what Moshe says? No. Fourth story, מדין Midyan. Now, it's not the pain of his people. It's not the pain of the individual. It's not trying to help his people from themselves. Now who is he trying to help? Complete and utter strangers. Not part of his family, not part of his people. And instead of being passive or indifferent, he asserts himself, he intercedes.Ask the Alter, what do these four stories, all we know of the first eighty years of Moshe's life, clearly the תורה Torah is trying to communicate a message to us before God recruits Moshe to be the leader? What is the common denominator? What's the common theme of all four stories? Says the Alter, is it Moshe's brilliance? No. In none of the stories do we see Moshe solved a great math equation that was left on the chalkboard in the palace and none of the other kids could get it and in the middle of the night, he wrote the solution and no one else did. It's not Moshe's brilliance, it's not Moshe's good looks, it's not his charisma, it's not his charm, it's not his athleticism or artistic ability. Says the Alter, Moshe is recruited as our leader because he excelled in a specific character trait, namely, נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero. He excelled at not just seeing the burden of another, but feeling it, participating in it, empathizing with it, and trying to relieve that very suffering. Torah tells us four stories, but the מדרש Midrash fills in a fifth. There was a lamb, a part of Moshe's flock, and it ran away from Moshe. So Moshe chased after the little lamb. And a pool of water appeared before the lamb, and the lamb stopped because it was thirsty, running away from Moshe. And it bent down to lap up some water to drink. And when Moshe arrived, says the מדרש Midrash, he said to the lamb, I didn't know you were running because you were thirsty. Now I see you're tired. He took the little lamb and he put it on his shoulder and he carried the lamb back. And הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it's that image, says the מדרש Midrash, this fifth and final story. God sees Moshe with the lamb on his shoulders, saying, \"Little lamb, you're so tired, you're so thirsty, come, let me carry you, let's rejoin the group, let's get back to the flock.\" And רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam says, \"That's my man.\" I don't care that he can't speak publicly. I'm not impressed by all the other tremendous things he has going for him. It's this, the common theme of the four stories and the imagery of the fifth story. And that's why the משנה Mishnah, the ברייתא Baraisa in the sixth chapter of פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos tells us that one of the forty-eight ways that the Torah is acquired that we learn from Moshe is נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero. נושא Nosei means to carry the burden with your friend. Now when you carry the burden with your friend, does the burden disappear? What happens to the burden for your friend? It gets a little lighter. If you see someone schlepping a table and you go and help them, the table doesn't magically make it to the new place. It still needs to be carried. But for your friend, it gets a little lighter. And that's why the language is נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero, to carry with your friend.The בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim says Moshe is not the only one who has this. Moshe learned this. When we saw earlier that Moshe's put in the basket, he's floating in the Nile, בתיה Bisyah, the daughter of פרעה Paroh, notices him, stretches her arm to retrieve him. It says והנה נער בוכה v'hinei na'ar bocheh. The lad is crying. To which the בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim, רבי יעקב בן אשר Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher asks, why would Moshe, the baby in the basket, be described as a נער na'ar? It's a תינוק tinok. It's a baby, not a נער na'ar. So who was crying? Says the בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim, והנה נער בוכה v'hinei na'ar bocheh, the child was crying, is not talking about Moshe the baby in the basket. You know who it's talking about? אהרן הכהן Aharon HaKohen. Aharon, his brother. Why was Aharon crying? בעל הטורים Baal HaTurim says, when they put Moshe in the basket, Aharon hid behind the tree and could not stop staring. He couldn't take leave. He wouldn't leave, abandon his brother. He was נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero. He had to watch to see what would happen. He felt the pain of his parents. He needed to be involved. And it's not just אהרן הכהן Aharon HaKohen, lastly. Who is the model of נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero? You know why Rashi says God comes in the image of the burning bush? Because the burning bush is low to the ground. And God is עמו אנכי בצרה imo anochi b'tzarah. I'm with you even in this exile. I'm with you during this pain. God Himself is נושא בעול עם חברו nosei b'ol im chavero.So what impresses God about Moshe? Most important quality of a leader. They need to be a תלמיד חכם talmid chacham and a good speaker. They should be good-looking, charismatic, charming, good golfer, tennis player. They need all the מעלות ma'alos. But what's the most important quality of a leader? נושא בעול עם חברו Nosei b'ol im chavero. They lack empathy, they could be the most brilliant in the world. You don't want them to be your רב Rav. You don't want them to be your רבנית Rebbetzin. You don't want them to be your leader. נושא בעול עם חברו Nosei b'ol im chavero.Okay, so let's keep going. פסוק ו Pasuk vav. ויאמר אנכי אלקי אביך אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב, ויסתר משה פניו כי ירא מהביט אל האלקים. Vayomer anochi Elokei avicha, Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov, vayaster Moshe panav ki yarei mehabit el ha'Elokim. So God introduces Himself to Moshe at this bush. He says, I am the God of your father, I'm the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak, the God of Yaakov. And Moshe turns because he can't look at the Almighty God. Why does God introduce himself in this way? אנכי אלקי אביך Anochi Elokei avicha. I am the God of your father. So the רמב\"ן Ramban, before we get to the רמב\"ן Ramban, go to the כלי יקר Kli Yakar. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar says, פירש רז\"ל peirush Chazal, says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar quoting חז\"ל Chazal, שמות רבה Shemos Rabbah, שנראה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא בקולו של עמרם אביו shenir'ah lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu b'kolo shel Amram aviv. Wild. God appeared to Moshe and disguised His voice to sound as if Moshe's own father Amram was calling him. וכשאמר הנני U'k'she'amar hineini, and when Moshe said, \"Here I am,\" he thought he heard his father. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא אין זה קול אביך, אלא קול אלקי אביך עמרם Amar lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu ein zeh kol avicha, ela kol Elokei avicha Amram. Now that I got your attention, now that I made you look, it's not your father. But who am I? I am the God of your father. וכתוב כאן ארבע פעמים אלוקים כנגד ארבע לשונות של גאולה V'kasuv kan arba pe'amim Elokim k'neged arba leshonos shel geulah. And why does it say אלוקים Elokim, the God, four times in the פסוק pasuk? Corresponding with the four languages of redemption that we know we're familiar with from our פרשה parsha. As is explained, God willing, פרשת וארא Parshas Va'eira, next week's פרשה parsha. There are commentators who say that He mentioned אלקי אביך Elokei avicha because He revealed to him that his father had already died, after He had sanctified His name upon him. And so that he would not refuse to go on this mission to the place of his father, because even before Aharon, his older brother, he would refuse, how much more so in the place of his father. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, why would God disguise His voice as Moshe's father Amram? Because he wanted to tell Moshe, I have bad news for you. You've been in מדין Midyan saving the women at the well. You've been at מדין Midyan getting married, building a family. Sorry to tell you that your father has passed away. And why was it so critical right now for God to tell Moshe his father had passed away? Because God anticipated that one of Moshe's arguments of why he couldn't be the leader would be, \"Don't take me, take my father.\" To which God says, \"Your father is not an eligible candidate.\" And that's why אנכי אלקי אביך Anochi Elokei avicha. The רמב\"ן Ramban is bothered on the פסוק pasuk, why, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar says אלוקים Elokim four times corresponds with the ד' לשונות של גאולה daled leshonos shel geulah. But the רמב\"ן Ramban is bothered by a different question. On the simple level, it is like אלקי אבותיך Elokei avosecha. And it mentions each one individually because each one of them is the God of your fathers. He is the God of each of your forefathers. Because each of them is called איש אב ish av. Each of them is your father. And so is אלקי דוד אביך Elokei David avicha. Or זה קלי ואנוהו zeh Keili v'anveihu, when you use the, as the פסוק pasuk says, this is my God and I will glorify him, אלקי אבי וארוממנהו Elokei avi va'aromemenhu. We have a dual relationship with God. On the one hand, my relationship with God is predicated on, it's built on, it sits on the shoulders of my ancestors' relationship with God. So I didn't discover God in a vacuum. I'm not the first. My parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, going all the way back to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. But on the other hand, if the sum total of my relationship with God was as the continuation of the relationship of my ancestors, my relationship would be somewhat dry and sterile, impersonal. It would lack affection and love. So it's אלקי אבי וארוממנהו Elokei avi va'aromemenhu, but it's זה קלי ואנוהו zeh Keili v'anveihu. I have to develop my own unique personal relationship. I have to discover God in my life. And because my life is by definition different than every other, then how I see God in my life will be different. My connection, my closeness, my gratitude, my longing, my dependence. Every individual has a different relationship with Hashem. So which comes first? זה קלי ואנוהו Zeh Keili v'anveihu comes before אלקי אבי וארוממנהו Elokei avi va'aromemenhu. Why? Because the more authentic relationship is the one that I forge, the personal one, my conversations with God, my perceptions of God, my connection with Hashem. That's the more authentic, that's the more personal. But what if I don't have it? What if I don't connect? What if I don't feel it? Am I off the hook? That's אלקי אבי וארוממנהו Elokei avi va'aromemenhu. That's when we have to tap into the continuity, the connection, the feeling of those who came before me and my sense of responsibility in continuing it. So says the רמב\"ן Ramban. For Avraham, it says אלקי אביך אברהם Elokei avicha Avraham because he was the first to call in the name of God. And then it mentions Yitzchak and Yaakov along with the rest of the fathers. We begin with Avraham because he really discovered, promoted God. אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham, and then אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov. Asks the רמב\"ן Ramban, why don't we just say אלקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב Elokei Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov, would be more efficient. Why repeat אלקי Elokei each time? And the answer is because everyone has their own God. Not that there's more than one God, God forbid, but each of us have our own perception of and connection with God. So it's אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov. And where else do we see that expression used? The beginning of our עמידה Amidah. Why? Because the עמידה Amidah is the invitation to have an audience with the Almighty. So we are reminded as we walk into the audience with the Almighty, don't just recite some formula, some template, don't just do what your ancestor did, this is your God. Get to know him, be connected with him, look for him, thank him, ask him. אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v'Elokei Yaakov. Yitzchak did not just have the exact same relationship with God as Avraham, nor Yaakov with Yitzchak. He was אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, אלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. And so to each of us, forge our own relationship, says the רמב\"ן Ramban. פסוק ז Pasuk zayin. ויאמר ה' ראה ראיתי את עני עמי אשר במצרים ואת צעקתם שמעתי מפני נגשיו כי ידעתי את מכאוביו Vayomer Hashem ra'oh ra'isi es oni ami asher b'Mitzrayim v'es tza'akasam shamati mipnei nogsav ki yadati es mach'ovav. Says God, \"I see the servitude, the suffering of my people in Egypt. ואת צעקתם שמעתי V'es tza'akasam shamati, I hear their cry, מפני נגשיו כי ידעתי את מכאוביו mipnei nogsav ki yadati es mach'ovav.\" I see their suffering. I hear their cry. Because of those who are oppressing them. I know of their suffering. כי ידעתי, ידעתי את מכאוביו Ki yadati, yadati es mach'ovav. What's going on here in this פסוק pasuk? So, this is a great פסוק pasuk. Says the ספורנו Sforno. Let's look at this comment of the ספורנו Sforno. ראה ראיתי את עני עמי Ra'oh ra'isi es oni ami. Says God, I see the suffering of my people. צדיקי הדור הנאנחים והנאקים Tzadikei hador ha'ne'enachim v'hane'ekim, the righteous of the generation who are pouring out their hearts in prayer. And opposite them, the angel of God was revealed in the midst of the bush. And the reason for ראה ראיתי, אמנם ראיתי ra'oh ra'isi, omnam ra'isi, why does it say the double language ראה ראיתי ra'oh ra'isi, God says, I have surely seen? אמנם ראיתי Omnam ra'isi, it's to emphasize, it's emphatic. And this is the reason in every place when it wants to establish something. It means to show that the truth is so. Says the ספורנו Sforno, whenever you see redundancy in the Torah, whenever you see that double language, it comes for emphasis. Even though the opponent will argue the opposite, and it also tells you when you might have thought the opposite, this is the way it is. Like ידעתי בני ידעתי yadati b'ni yadati. Meaning, even though I saw the suffering of my people who are in Egypt, as the angel in the bush indicated, and even though their suffering has an end, as the man in the bush indicated, nevertheless, the Egyptians will not increase their afflictions on them with all the plagues, as the matter of the bush, which was not consumed, indicated. For the intention with the plagues that I will bring upon them is not to destroy them or to remove Israel from their place, but to take Israel from their hands and not to leave them in another place. ספורנו Sforno here says something very interesting. What was the purpose of the plagues? We usually think it was to punish the מצרים Mitzrim, to get them to change their ways. Says the ספורנו Sforno, absolutely not. The מצרים Mitzrim never changed their ways. They never gave up the desire to exterminate the Jewish people, to oppress the Jewish people. What was the reason for the מכות makkos? To educate the Jewish people about God and ultimately to liberate the Jewish people. And so the imagery of the bush burning not consumed, says the ספורנו Sforno, is the מצרים Mitzrim who are smacked again and again and again, but not consumed because they never give up. They never give up their mission to oppress the Jewish people. That is the insight of the ספורנו Sforno. It's very interesting here, what makes God tell Moshe the time has come? 210 years of suffering. And now, God says the time has come. What was the catalyst? What's the springboard? What makes it happen? God says, what did I hear? ראה ראיתי Ra'oh ra'isi, I see. ואת צעקתם שמעתי V'es tza'akasam shamati. I heard their their cries. The סלונים רבע Slanimer Rebbe in the נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom points out that the same way God promises four languages of redemption, that's preceded by four languages of crying out. אנחה, זעקה, שועה, נאקה Anacha, ze'aka, shav'a, ne'aka. Four, Torah uses four different verbs, four separate words to describe their cry, their moan, their groan, their קראכטץ krechts. אנחה, זעקה, שועה, נאקה Anacha, ze'aka, shav'a, ne'aka. They were crying out. The four languages of groaning earned the four languages of redemption. Does it say they prayed? No. It does not say they prayed. It doesn't say they prayed with words. But did they pray? So the סלונים רבע Slanimer Rebbe develops this idea. Do you want to know the most authentic type of דאווענען davening? The most genuine form of prayer is not with words. It's a cry, it's a call, it's a scream, it's a קראכטץ krechts. It's a moan. אלו, ד' לשונות, אלו אנחה זעקה שועה נאקה הנהם קול בלא דיבור Eilu, daled leshonos, eilu anacha, ze'aka, shav'a, ne'aka, heinam kol b'lo dibbur. It's like the שופר shofar. שופר Shofar, Rav Soloveitchik said the שופר shofar is a form of תפילה tefillah. The שופר shofar is a manifestation of prayer. We pray with words, but sometimes when we want the prayer to come from the depths of our soul, from the essence of our being, we don't want to be limited or constrained or distracted by having to capture it with words. You want to get to the core of where you're at, it's that cry, it's that קראכטץ krechts. It's the moan. Not just any moan, a קראכטץ krechts, but to direct the moan or קראכטץ krechts as a form of prayer to God. To let the cry carry the goal, the wish, the intent, the hope as a form of תפילה tefillah. And the סלונים רבע Slanimer Rebbe writes, that's the התחלתא דגאולה aschalta d'geulah. התחלתא דגאולה היתה כאשר כל חלקי הנשמה נאנחו לפני השם יתברך Aschalta d'geulah haisa k'asher kol chelkei haneshama ne'enchu lifnei Hashem Yisbarach. The Jewish people were sick and tired of that reality. They were done. They had hit rock bottom. Sometimes the redemption doesn't come when you're low, it doesn't come when you're on your way down. The redemption only comes when, when you've hit where? Rock bottom. Because there when you're you you let out this groan, this cry, this exasperation, enough. On the way down, you're using words, hope, dreams, prayers, please turn it around. It's not real enough. It's not raw enough. But when you're on the bottom, and you let out that cry, צעקה, נאקה, שועה, אנחה tze'aka, ne'aka, shav'a, anacha, that's real. And it's not limited by words, and that was the catalyst of the redemption. And you know what God's answer is? כי ידעתי Ki yadati. God so identifies with that call, how genuine and authentic it is, he knows. He had seen their cries, he had heard their cries, but it turned into knowledge, cognitive, real, captured, concrete. Why? Because it was so genuine. The סלונים רבע Slanimer Rebbe says something, Rav Soloveitchik in his חומש Chumash says the same thing. That word, God says כי ידעתי ki yadati, I know, I connect with the cry. What does it mean? Then God knew, and the connection returned between the Holy One Blessed is He and Israel. Jewish people had been alienated, had been at a distance from the Almighty, but that cry reconnected them. And it wasn't a loose connection. The cry, it was so genuine and deep, it reconnected them in not a superficial way, in the deepest way. I'll read to you from the Rav. The term דעת da'as implies more than cognitive awareness. It implies intimacy, closeness of association, sympathy with the other fellow. God saw the Israelites and became intimate with their suffering. The term denotes passionate knowledge, the I-sympathy with the thou. דעת Da'as implies intimacy. Hence the sexual act in Hebrew uses the term דעת da'as. God didn't just hear their cries, He felt connected, He felt intimate with them. That's how genuine it was, their desire to turn around. See, until now they didn't have that desire. They didn't believe that they were worthy or capable of a better future. In fact, God says he's going to save them from where? Next פסוק pasuk. וארד להצלו מיד מצרים ולהעלתו מן הארץ ההיא אל ארץ טובה ורחבה, אל ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, אל מקום הכנעני, החתי, האמרי, הפריזי, החוי, והיבוסי Va'eired l'hatzilo miyad Mitzrayim u'l'haaloso min ha'aretz hahi el eretz tovah u'rechavah, el eretz zavas chalav u'dvash, el makom haKna'ani, haChiti, haEmori, haPrizi, haChivi, v'haYevusi. God says, \"I will go down and save them from the Egyptians, to bring them up to this land flowing with milk and honey that belongs to the Canaanite nations.\" Why is God going down? וארד Va'ered. So here we have a number of opinions. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, וארד va'ered, is because heaven is more honored than the earth. And God, whose glory fills the whole world, it is only that all decrees come from heaven. Therefore, the language is וארד va'ered. God ordains from above. When we imagine God, He dwells in the heavens. So if he's about to intercede and alter things here on earth, he has to come down from his throne, which is up above. That's the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. Says the רשב\"ם Rashbam, וארד כאן לדבר אליך Va'ered kan l'daber eilecha. No, וארד va'ered means God says to Moshe, you know, to recruit you, I had to fly out down here to find you and meet you. To recruit you, I had to come down from heaven to have this conversation with you. The ספורנו Sforno says similarly. Meaning, I revealed myself in this awesome sight to save them and bring them up and to destroy the Egyptians. I had to come down here in order to get you. The רמב\"ן Ramban as well, that I revealed myself on this mountain in fire. I left the heaven to appear to you from the fire. וארד Va'ered, I had to come down here. We've shared previously, we always see God when he comes and interacts with humanity, we saw it with the דור הפלגה Dor Haflagah. We saw it with Moshe Rabbeinu, what happens with the broken לוחות luchos, מרגלים meraglim. We use the language in סליחות slichos. What do we say before we invoke the thirteen attributes of God? What do we say? וירד ה' בענן Vayered Hashem b'anan. God comes down. Why וירד vayered? Rav Schwab has a beautiful image. Because above, in the heavens, God has the expectation of perfection. It's only on earth we created fallibility and humanity, imperfection. So God has to come to our level to appreciate and understand and be forgiving. It's a lesson in forgiveness. To forgive someone, you have to go to their place. וארד Va'ered. You have to look at things where they are, not where you are. So God sees their suffering and he comes down to their place. It's amazing. I I was on a plane yesterday and when you fly immediately above the clouds, I commented to the person I was flying with, you know, you still have the benefit of disconnecting from the world when you fly. You're disconnected. You have no idea what's going on down on the ground. And you look down at that pillow of clouds. It could be stormy weather, it could be whatever it is below, but when you're up there, it's just so peaceful, so nice. Looks like cushions of clouds. And you understand וארד va'ered. Oh God, I got to go down there. I got to land, reconnect, see what's going on, check in with the news, get the emails and text. It's so peaceful up here. But וארד va'ered, God goes down. But here's the last idea, I thought we're gonna do much more, but the last idea I want to leave you with. Who does God save them from? וארד להצילו מיד Va'ered l'hatzilo miyad, I went down to save them from whom? מיד מצרים Miyad Mitzrayim. Writes Rabbi Soloveitchik, there are actually two Exoduses. One is from the ארץ מצרים Eretz Mitzrayim, the land of Mitzrayim. The other is from the people of Mitzrayim, from their culture, their ideas, their philosophies, their way of life, their mores. The Exodus from ארץ מצרים Eretz Mitzrayim took place on the 15th night of Nissan, was complete. But the Exodus from Mitzrayim is a long process. What took place in one night was only the liberation from the land of Egypt. Leaving Egypt, in other words, took the Jews out of Egypt, but taking Egypt out of the Jews is a long road which the Jew has been traveling for 3,500 years without yet arriving at their destination. The messianic redemption is a continuation of the redemption from Egypt. When Moshe received the assignment to appear before Pharaoh, take the Jews out of Egypt, God says, \"I've seen your page, I've descended, and I'm coming to take you from where?\" מיד Miyad. Not מיד ארץ מצרים miyad Eretz Mitzrayim. What does it say? מיד מצרים Miyad Mitzrayim. My purpose is not just to save them from the land of Egypt. The final goal, the ultimate end of the גאולה geulah is מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrayim, from the whole spiritual complex which is called Egypt, from its philosophy, from its world perspective. God appointed Moshe to be not only the redeemer as far as the Exodus from the land, but the redeemer from the second Exodus. Moshe had a tough assignment. Had God given him the task of taking Jews out of the land, he would not have argued at all. He would have accepted the assignment immediately without any discussion. The debate between God and Moshe lasted seven days, and Moshe's reluctance and his protest was because he knew how hard it would be not to take the Jews out of Egypt. Egypt. How hard it would be to take Egypt out of the Jews. You know you see, why was I on a plane yesterday? I went to Cuba for the day. With a small group of people on a humanitarian trip to Cuba. We brought medicine, supplies. It's for another time. We visited three, there are three שולס shuls. There's about 1,000, 1,200 Jews. At the height there were 15,000 Jews in Cuba. It's really a third world, backwards, impoverished, socialist, communist country. What was shocking to me, I leave you with this, the מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrayim. Absolutely shocking. Here in South Florida, you interact with Cubans, certainly our Cuban politicians, they depict, they depict Castro and the Cubans as this oppressive regime, the Hitler to Cuba. You talk to people in Cuba, and they have love and loyalty, there's a love-hate relationship with Castro. The socialism and communist ideas are so ingrained. They say it's true that we don't have toilet paper or deodorant, we can't leave or we don't have internet access, but we get to go to college for free and it's made everyone equal. We're all, it's an egalitarian society. You see that when someone is indoctrinated for long enough, it clouds their vision. קוצר רוח ועבודה קשה kotzer ruach v'avodah kashah, the inability to dream, to see a brighter future, to imagine things being different. It is staggering. It was shocking. Jewish community has pictures in the lobby of the main שול shul, when Castro came for, Fidel came for חנוכה Chanukah parties, is sitting in the pews, enjoying. Could you imagine our putting pictures of our worst enemies of when they joined us in the שול shul? Shocking to see the power of, of not only persecution, but the indoctrination, what it does. More thoughts on this another time. Rabbi Moskowitz continues with his amazing class in ספר מלאכים Sefer Melachim.
